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Host Committee Releases Plans, Performers for Super Bowl LIVE

ZZ TOP, Gary Clark Jr, The Suffers highlight Super Saturday Schedule

The countdown to Super Bowl LI is on, and with 51 days until the game at NRG Stadium, the Houston Super Bowl Host Committee unveiled the attractions and Super Bowl weekend performers for Super Bowl LIVE in downtown Houston.

The Houston Super Bowl Host Committee announced the attractions, exhibits and Super Bowl weekend concert lineup on Friday as part of the festivities surrounding the 51-day milestone to the Super Bowl. ‘Houston pride’ will be the overriding theme throughout Super Bowl LIVE, both in the performers, the attractions and the food throughout the festival.

“The Host Committee has championed the theme that Houston is the city of the future throughout our preparations for Super Bowl LI,” Host Committee president and CEO Sallie Sargent said. “There are so many great features and stories to tell about Houston, we wanted to make sure we showcased as many as we could for the thousands of visitors that will be coming here.”

A tremendous mix of musical styles and genres will take the main stage of Super Bowl LIVE over the course of the nine days. The Host Committee focused on local Houston and Texas acts to feature on the main stage. Taking the main stage on Saturday, Feb. 4, the day before the Super Bowl, will be ZZ TOP, Gary Clark Jr. and The Suffers.

“That Little ‘Ol Band From Texas” is still the original trio of Billy F. Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard. ZZ TOP has been dazzling audiences for more than 40 years with their combination of rock, blues, and boogie on the road and in the studio. 2004 inductees into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the band has explored new ground in terms of both their sonic approach and the material they’ve recorded. ZZ TOP is the same but always changing.

With Gary Clark Jr’s debut album, Blak And Blu, he became the first artist ever recognized by the Recording Academy with Grammy Award nominations in both the rock and R&B categories for the same album in the same year, winning the latter: Best Traditional R&B Performance” – “Please Come Home.”

The Suffers, whose music has been prominently featured by the Host Committee in the preparations for Super Bowl LI, were influenced just as much by classic rock & roll, country, Latin and Southern hip hop as they are the Stax/Volt or Muscle Shoals era. The Suffers bring a fresh approach to what they have coined Gulf Coast Soul. Late night legend David Letterman proclaimed in early 2015 “If you can’t do this, get out of the business.”

On Friday, Feb. 3, Leon Bridges, Shakey Graves and Robert Ellis will take the main stage at Super Bowl LIVE.

A 26-year-old Fort Worth native, Leon Bridges and Columbia Records released his debut album, ‘Coming Home,’ in June of 2015 to critical and public acclaim.

Shakey Graves broke new ground with his self-released 2011 debut album ‘Roll the Bones’. Years later, with “And the War Came”, Graves has stayed near the top of the Bandcamp digital best seller charts.

Robert Ellis, a Lake Jackson native, has been on the music scene since his self-released debut album “The Great Re Arranger” in 2009. Since then Ellis has been to Nashville and back, releasing a self-titled fourth album in 2016.

On Thursday, Feb. 2, Solange, Robert Glasper and Lizzo will perform on the main stage.

Solange has released three studio albums and has written songs for, and collaborated with, countless artists across many musical genres. Her most recent album, A Seat At The Table, was released globally on September 30th and charted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200.

Another Houston native Robert Glasper had a strong musical influence in his mother who played piano and sang gospel music in church as well as in jazz and blues clubs. RGX won a Grammy for Best R&B Album with “Black Radio” in 2013, and another Grammy for Traditional R&B Performance with “Black Radio 2.” The Robert Glasper Trio is nominated for another Grammy for Best Jazz Instrumental Album with “Covered.”

Bold and brassy one minute and devastatingly sincere the next, Lizzo, who was born in Houston and now lives in Minneapolis, is an artist that defies easy definition. She’s a gifted rapper, a hair-raising gospel singer, a razor-sharp wordsmith, a classically trained flautist, and a passionate advocate for feminism and black empowerment. She’s a hard-touring road warrior who is equally capable of winning over audiences in London, Paris, New York.

Houston-based performers will also be on the main and secondary stage throughout the week, including bands The Tontons, Wild Moccasins, Los Skarnales, Nick Gaitan, Fat Tony, Buxton and many more.

Away from the main stage, Houston is still the star of Super Bowl LIVE with the Houston LIVE exhibition located within the Super Bowl LIVE footprint. Houston LIVE focuses on the history of the city with three major themes: ‘Celebrate’, ‘Inspire’, and ‘Energize’. It will showcase the sprit, ingenuity and drive that makes Houston the diverse, dynamic and exciting city of the future.

The Host Committee also showcased the space industry by partnering with NASA and leading aerospace companies to create Future Flight, the signature attraction of Super Bowl LIVE. Future Flight combines a virtual reality experience with a 90-foot drop tower that takes passengers on a trip to Mars and back, landing just in time for Super Bowl LI.

The Host Committee will also make extensive use of Houston-area food trucks to feed the crowds at Super Bowl LIVE. The trucks will be strategically located in several areas throughout the festival.

Super Bowl LIVE is the Host Committee’s signature nine-day fan festival leading up to Super Bowl LI in Houston. The festival, a free event with music, food, games and attractions, will be located in and around Discovery Green Park in downtown Houston from Jan. 28 through Feb. 5, 2017. The Host Committee is anticipating attendance of 1 million people over the nine days.